#chinese representation

[revenge-of-the-shit]

Anyway now that the hype has long passed I do want to note (as I'm sure this has been noted in many other places) that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was a double-edged sword in terms of Chinese American representation.

On one hand, it had a good story, some of the best choreography in the MCU, beautifully designed costumes and fantastical worlds, Tony Leung, Michelle Yeoh, and truly did portray Chinese American & Chinese characters as fleshed-out complex characters. There were quite a few elements of it that made me feel seen, quite frankly, for the first time ever in the Western superhero genre without leaving a bad taste in my mouth. The team did a good job with discarding the extremely racist comic book origins to come up with a new background and storyline that made the movie pretty enjoyable overall and left me feeling quite satisfied once I left the theatre.

That being said-

It was deeply, deeply sanitized for a (mass) white audience. It still falls into many stereotypes and tropes. Shang-Chi is a secret kung fun master with ties to a secret mystical Chinese crime organization. Katy has an H. B. from UBerkley and is a prodigy at archery. Xialing is ALSO a kung fu master. The entire storyline revolves around the return to China trope, and while it does take the characters back to America at the end, the overall storyline seems to hover around this premise: that China is where all the action must happen for characters of Chinese ancestry, that all Chinese people are secretly kung-fu masters or smart prodigies, that the East has this *woo secret mystical oriental flavour with dragons (because what Chinese media isn't complete without dragons haha amirite)!!* that can't be found in the West. As much as I did appreciate the film (and still do somewhat), it's undeniable that this is watered down so that a Western audience could consume it.

There's a reason mainland Chinese audiences didn't like it. The action sequences are like every other Jackie Chan or wuxia sequence you've ever seen in Chinese film. Given how these sequences are almost always extremely high quality, there's a reason this looks amazing compared to the MCU but pretty standard compared to what the usual Chinese moviegoer would see. The worldbuilding in Ta Lo is minimal and clearly written from a Western perspective, especially when compared to much of Chinese fantasy or xianxia media. Every time someone tells me that this film was made for mainland China, I laugh - this movie couldn't be more clearly targeted to a Western audience. Overall, while Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings certainly has its merits and is indeed a step forward in bringing Chinese American superheroes to mainstream media, it's also a continued step on the wrong path of stereotypes and overused tropes.

Anyway if you want a good film with Chinese American representation PLEASE go see Everything Everywhere All At Once that movie is better in literally every single way

#mcu #chinese representation #shang-chi #shang chi and the legend of the ten rings #scatlottr #non sw #this movie also devolved into the mcu issue of turnign into a CGI fuckfest at the end and that took away a lot of the emotional impact #mcu critical #there's also the fact that they keep calling this the first asian american hero and made a big deal about asian american representation #yes Shang-Chi is Chinese and so he's also Asian but #China is NOT all of Asia as a lot of Westerners like to think it is?? #like there's so many other rich cultures in Asia and pretending that China encompasses all of it is lazy and ignorant #and just looking for brownie points because wowie representation!

[mask131]

Video-sharing of the day! Today, a dual edition.

&

#video #video sharing #chinese representation #american media #journey to the west #movie review #big trouble in little china #american movies

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

Shout-out to “Crazy Rich Asians” for giving us the year of Ke Huy Quan. If it weren’t for the success of that movie, Ke Huy Quan wouldn’t have been inspired to return to acting. So, because he was inspired by CRA, he returns to acting and:

1) wins a Golden Globe for his role in “Everything, Everywhere, All at Once”

2) joins the MCU in “Loki” season 2

3) gets a role in “American Born Chinese”

4) gets another big movie role in the Russo Bros’ next film, which also stars Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt

That is one hell of a butterfly effect.

#ke huy quan #Jonathan ke quan #actors #asian representation #aapi representation #crazy rich asians #everything everywhere all at once #eeaao #mcu #marvel #Loki #loki season two #american born chinese #the russo brothers #millie bobby brown #chris pratt #Netflix #movie actors

[eastasiansonwesternscreen]

2023 - A YEAR IN REVIEW

#everything everywhere all at once #beef netflix #past lives #charles melton #ming na wen #michelle yeoh #ke huy quan #joy ride #quiz lady #shortcomings #american born chinese #year in review #*** #media representation #representation in media #photos

[summerongrand]

Just gonna take a moment to appreciate Melissa O’Neil posting and sharing about her culture today.

#we need more of this! #chenford #happy chinese new year #happy lunar new year #lucy chen #melissa o'neil #the rookie #tca24 #lunar new year #chinese new year #year of the dragon #representation matters #media representation #tim and lucy #lucy bradford #red envelope #things that matter

[joshualunacreations]

In 2022, Corinne Tan was announced as the American Girl Doll of the Year and heavily promoted as a way of raising awareness about anti-Asian racism during COVID. But what message did her story send?

When Corinne Tan debuted, AsAms were offended by the synopsis and how it centered a white man in what's supposed to be a COVID racism story. Once I heard the book had been fast tracked for two live-action specials on HBO Max and Cartoon Network, I knew more harm was coming. In the rare instances Western media talks about anti-Asian racism, it's downplayed. Instead, narratives are used to reinforce the 1) Model Minority Myth, 2) Asian gender divide, and 3) "correct" levels of assimilation. Unsurprisingly, Corinne Tan’s story does all of these.

There's a place for stories about divorce and blended families, but this story isn't it. COVID racism is specifically about the threat of AAPI being verbally or physically assaulted by non-AAPI. The author's choice to emphasize conflict within an Asian family is inappropriate.

Instead of empathizing with David Tan's inability to work during the pandemic—a real problem that has devastated many AAPI families and businesses—it's the reason Judy divorces him. The story not only erases racism as a reason for AAPI pandemic joblessness, but victim-blames. It implies her parents have an antagonistic relationship because her dad isn't white and rich, and that makes him an inferior romantic partner. Despite referencing a slur meant for Asian men, the story never acknowledges that her dad experiences racism too.

Another appalling aspect is how Corinne, an 11-year-old girl, is responsible for teaching a grown white man to empathize with her experiences of racism—because her mom won't. Not only does Judy never talk to Arne about racism, she lets him gaslight Corinne in front of her. Judy seems fixated on wealth and achievement over her daughters' emotional safety. When the family lived with David, the walls were decorated with the daughters' artwork. In Arne's house, Judy is concerned with protecting the aesthetic chosen by Arne's professional decorator.

This is why the Eileen Gu poster becomes such a sticking point. While David encourages his daughters to embrace Chinese culture in everything, Judy seems to apply it only to her restaurant. Is it because Arne tells her he hoped marrying a chef would mean never buying takeout?

Meanwhile, Arne, a rich white businessman—who calls himself Goldilocks and whose behavior the author describes as "clueless" racism—gets sympathetic treatment. His fear of heights and dogs is equated to Corinne's fear of racists, as if it's a phobia to overcome via willpower.

Recall that the purpose of Corinne Tan's story is to educate about AAPI experiences with racism during COVID. Mattel, owner of American Girl, hired a panel of AsAm academics and consultants to tell her story with "authenticity and accuracy." So how did it turn out so harmful?

It's because the AsAm consultants for this project and many similar projects—like Dr. Jennifer Ho—are out-of-touch with our community. Insulated by wealth and/or whiteness they've chosen, they think they've acknowledged their privilege, but their work shows they're still reinforcing it.

The broader problem is that racist and misogynist white men control media. Regardless of gender, sexuality, or marital status, AAPI are given media power only when they internalize and repeat white men’s messaging. This isn't limited to fiction—it affects real-life activism too.

A picture says a thousand words, and it speaks volumes that Stop AAPI Hate chose to literally center white men in the photo accompanying their hate crime data report summarizing the past two years. Of those "thousands of voices," it isn't hard to guess who's prioritized. Stop AAPI Hate pushes the same message as Corinne Tan's story: racist white men deserve more humanity and sympathy than actual AAPI male victims. Hating and erasing AAPI men is required to show that you're a "safe" Asian deserving of resources and support. (see my data thread about how hate crime data is manipulated to erase AAPI men as victims)

It's bad enough that an entire gender is being cut out from resources and empathy, but what Corinne Tan’s story reveals is another disturbing trend: AAPI youth are being groomed into normalizing having racist white men in their lives, specifically in their families and homes.

Corinne Tan is a middle grade story (ages 8-12). For its consulting, Mattel partnered with AAPI Youth Rising, a non-profit led by AAPI middle schoolers. At the time, Dr. Ho was president of the Association for Asian American Studies, which helps shape AsAm studies in schools. It's not a stretch to think Corinne's mom Judy, who puts Corinne in harm's way by refusing to address her white husband’s "clueless” racism, is reflective of the behavior of AAPI adults involved in Stop AAPI Hate and other AsAm orgs—they gave the story their stamp of approval.

Anti-Asian hate crimes against AAPI should've brought the community closer together. Instead, we've been segregated further, and the AAPI who hurt the community the most have hoarded the empathy, media attention, and resources for themselves. How can any of us heal like this?

(Please don’t repost or edit my art. Reblogs are always appreciated.)

If you enjoy my comics, please pledge to my Patreon or donate to my Paypal.

https://twitter.com/Joshua_Luna/status/1134522555744866304 https://patreon.com/joshualuna https://www.paypal.com/paypalme2/JoshuaLunaComics

#corinne tan #american girl #american girl doll #mattel #aapi #asian american #chinese american #asian american representation #racism #anti-asian racism #hate crimes #covid racism #stop aapi hate #white men #gaslighting #grooming #fil am artist #my art #artists on tumblr #joshua luna #josh luna

[depressed-teacup-inc]

(Click for higher quality)

Guess who redesigned Su-Han to actually be a compelling antagonist making commentary on how people in power will use religion to control others and how you don't need to be necessarily outwardly evil to be written as a villain

#miraculous ladybug #character design #character redesign #su han #Disclaimer: THIS IS IN NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM A REPRESENTATION OF CHINESE CULTURE #THIS IS VERY MUCH A COMBINATION OF VARIOUS INSPIRATIONS SOME OF WHICH ARE COMPLETELY FANTASY

[the-monkey-ruler]

There is so much Wukong x OC or Wukong x Reader I’m actually flabbergasted. Six Eared Macaque I understand but not the asexual, super Buddhist monkey.

I answered something like this nearly a year ago but I'm still going to have the same answer a few times.

Wukong is a very charming and compelling character so it's not insane to think how people can fall in love with the character romantic or not. Narratively wise there has to be some suspension of disbelief but that is why it is fiction itself, and romance is another genre used to explore character depth. Wukong is a well-written interesting characteristic and I am not surprised that people are drawn to him again whether platonically or romantically, both imply a level of affection they have for Sun Wukong. There has been other media that asks for that 'suspicion for belief' as well.

I've also spoken about how Wukong with a significant other isn't that strange either. For the past twenty years, Wukong has been the object of desire in dozens of xiyouji romance plays and moves ever since the hit film Chinse Odessey, which cemented that Sun Wukong isn't just a hero, but a human being that has his own wants and flaws, and capturing the hearts of millions cause they saw themselves in him and his struggles. I talked about how impactful this movie was in changing Wukong from a fighter to a human here and here. Nowadays with more modern films, the use of romance isn't the only trope to use to explore characters and have them relate with audiences when it comes to love and lost but in the 2000s there were dozens of Wukong romances trying to capture that magic again of Wukong experiencing love and losing it because not matter how strong he is, he is just like anyone else and have heartache.

And it doesn't have to be Wukong from the original book. While Wu Cheng'en was able to provide that Wukong himself is a complex, charming, intelligent, and fascinating individual, there are hundreds of movies and shows that also wish to explore such a transformative character. I still see how popular Hero is Back 2015 Sun Wukong was and still is as one of the most fan-favorite Wukongs. There are many different Wukongs in different media that can be fan-favorites and really stick with audiences but that doesn't necessarily mean these are meant to be Wukong from the book as movies/shows could add or subtract certain elements from the Book Wukong in these adaptations. It would be unfair to both the book and the artists to say they are the same as the novel was created 400 years ago with heavy themes and saturated in symbolism, while movies and shows are created by artists for a generation, each media a time capsule for their audience and a reflection of the directors that wish to still be unique in their designs. While I have no doubt that many people adore Wukong from the novels I can't say that anyone hasn't been influenced by other media in how they interpret Wukong as well.

That rambling aside, what I'm trying to say is that Wukong and romance are nothing new, and seeing people ship themselves with Wukong is also nothing new. Six Ears only has two chapters and only really shines when movies or shows give him screen time, which is highly skewed due to the SHEER amount of Xiyouji media with just Wukong there is making that statically Wukong of course is going to have more fans, both back then and now.

#anon ask #anonymous #anon #jttw #journey to the west #sun wukong #xiyouji #ask #the quote are from #Transforming Monkey #Adaptation and Representation of a Chinese Epic #Transforming Monkey Adaptation and Representation of a Chinese Epic #Hongmei Sun

[lifblogs]

Wow, I’m reading reviews for a book I’m trying to read, and I’m appalled that so many people have a problem with a male author writing a sapphic main character. Damn, get your fucking head out of the sand.

They don’t even complain of him messing up representation there. They just hate it for some reason!

Sorry, but that’s just not it. A man can write a sapphic main character. There is no inherent problem with that. He’s just writing a character he finds fun and fascinating!

#y’all would hate my dad for this then #when really his sister was a lesbian #and he supported her through hell and high water #so of course he’d want to share that representation with the world #and people don’t even need a story like that to write whoever they want #i’m sorry am i going to hell for writing a chinese character #despite my minor in asian studies and hours of research? #thinking of rebecca kuang mentioning #this same idea that you can just write that representation #just do it #my god people #vent #salt #also one of my guy friends has a lesbian main character in one trilogy #what is wrong with that #nothing

[beneathashadytree]

Gentle reminder that I write for a gender-neutral MC with zero physical descriptions! Only when pregnancy is involved do I write that they’re AFAB. Other than those cases, it’s as vague as possible to make sure that everyone in the fandom feels included!

[more ranting in the tags oops]

#maya talks #chinese otome games aren’t very inclusive #i mean lnds is considered progressive simply bc the mc has darker skintone options #which is questionable to say the least considering that the hair options don’t even match that lmao #actually scratch that otome games in general aren’t inclusive #the only thing that comes to mind with a gn mc is obey me and we’re legit a SHEEP there #but anyways #please be mindful while requesting that your request complies with my rules for requesting! #as someone who’s literally never had any representation in any piece of media i’m extra sensitive when it comes to that #i can tweak the mc’s personality a bit yeah #but aside from that i keep them (physically) a blank slate #picture yourself!!!! your oc!!! go wild!!!! #and have fun <3

[thebleedingwoodland]

TS3 - Shang Simla Forbidden City Icon MOD

D E F A U L T   R E P L A C E M E N T

One of the most fatal mistakes that EA Maxis' The Sims 3 Studio in San Francisco, USA ever done to Shang Simla, China world in The Sims 3 World adventures: Using image of Torii Gate, from Japan, for China world icon.

For 13 years after release of The Sims 3 World Adventures Expansion Pack, finally I did the fix for the icon. Creating this icon default replacement is actually difficult because

editing the vector in very small scale size. 64x64 px, 57x57 px, 38x38 px, 32x32 px, 21x21 px... 

I chose Forbidden City as icon for Shang Simla because Forbidden City is only existed in Beijing, China. Shang Simla has its own “Sim-ified” Forbidden City building in the center of the World.

I haven’t tested the whole gameplay showing this new icon, but I have already done the edit for all image icons with keyword “beijing” “china” on S3PE. If you found any icon that hasn’t been replaced, please report to me.  

————————————————————————

Made with patch 1.67

TS3 World Adventures EP needed

Do not reupload/make profit/link to adf.ly or donation, no sims3planet, no simsfinds.

—————————————————————————-

[ Download ] 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Additional info: 

Some people did complain about the inaccuracy of Torii Gate for Shang Simla world icon. Here are the public published online. 

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/Sims-3-World-Adventures-is-incorrect-and-technically-racist/td-p/3474359

As usual, EA never apologize for their unprofessionalism.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVBp-HkSyXo&t=1246s

There are Simblrs from Taiwan, Japan, and UK complaint too but I rather not showing here due to privacy. 

#Do I qualified to work for EA? #Electronic Arts #EA San Francisco #EA Shanghai employees please take a look at the mess of China representation done by EA San Francisco #the sims #the sims 3 #ts3 #ts3 mod #ts3 world adventures #shang simla #ts3 forbidden city #ts3 chinese #ts3 asian #thebleedingwoodland #tumblrts3cc #模擬市民3 #模拟人生3 #unprofessionalism #asian culture #video games mod #模擬市民3世界歷險記 #stereotype #ts3 default replacement

[i-am-croissant]

hey everyone its aapi month give me 20 dollars please

#aapi #aapi representation #asian american #asian #aapi month #chinese #im asian btw lmao #ill cut up fruit for you so fast you wont know what hit you #happy aapi month guys

[havatabanca]

#black cake #blasian representation #sino jamaican representation #jamaican representation #chinese jamaican #afro asian #black jamaican #afro jamaican

[spite-and-waffles]

Please colour Asian skin tones properly. Brown is a racial classification, not a universal skin tone.

East Asians by and large have skin as pale as white Europeans, as do many South Americans, Native people, North Indians, and Arabs. Asians with one white parent will usually have pale skin.

The difference is in the undertones. Most people from Central Asia and North India have golden undertones. East Asians have a pink-yellow one. South East Asians retain the yellow tone even as their complexions grow darker. It's South Asians who have the brown complexion most of you use for all Asians.

Also the hue grows darker the closer to the equator, for all continents. But even then it's not uniform because of Arab, European and North Indian ancestry.

And Africans aren't all just Black. North Africa is mostly Arab, and there's a huge mixing of Arabs, Indians and Europeans in the West and South. Black people themselves have a spectrum of brown hues, most with a pink undertone. The darkest Asians and Black Africans have the same complexion, and are indistinguishable from one another.

Lighter skin is a universal beauty standard for men and women of colour. A part of it is because of European colonization, but it's also predated in regions by the thinking that high-born and high-caste people wouldn't be out working in the fields like peasants. So rich people will generally have lighter skin through a mix of marrying lighter skinned people, staying out of the sun and straight up bleaching their skin. But fuck colourism honestly. It doesn't need to be a factor.

#all of this is to say that Talia and Damian are actually pale as Caucasians #just with a distinct rose-gold undertone #Im glad WFA isnt whitewashing Damian #but the fact that he has a South Indian complexion is killing me #he's half white and Arab-Chinese #He should be the same hue as Cass #with a more rose rose-gold undertone #Talia would have a stronger undertone #stop colouring Talia brown #Talia Al Ghul #Damian Wayne #Cassandra Cain #DCU #DC fanart #Batfamily #fanart #diversity #representation #artists #asian representation #spite waffle

[eastasiansonwesternscreen]

“American Born Chinese” – Premieres Spring 2023 on Disney+

American Born Chinese tells the story of Jin Wang (Ben Wang), an average teenager juggling his high school social life with his home life. When he meets a new student on the first day of the school year, even more worlds collide as Jin is unwittingly entangled in a battle of Chinese mythological gods.

(via Variety)

#american born chinese #michelle yeoh #ke huy quan #Daniel Wu #ben wang #news #photos #media representation #representation in media

[relmint]

I understand lmk isn't a completely faithful adaptation (Also the murder monkey tone down cuz kiddos) but is it that bad of one? I got into LMK first and then started looking into jttw but haven't had time to sit down and read it just yet (school be like 🙃) I've seen some people say it's a pretty good one, and others seem to really dislike it. After your posts about lmk I'm curious about your opinion? Is it just the fandom or the show as a whole? Cuz I'm kinda with you on the buff, that's funky to me too, but curious if that's your only issue with it.

Ramble underneath!

For me personally, I don't have much of a problem with the show itself although there r some bits in the show I grew to dislike haha Especially when they downplayed DBK and SWK's friendship replacing DBK with Macaque KSKSKSKS Another thing is that I don't like the fandom much coz sometimes I just see takes that are so devoid of the characters from the og novel and they state it as fact KSKSKS. For ex. making SWK not being able to read is one irritating take. I really don't like it when ppl dumb SWK down because in the book he really is clever and conniving. Also, I'm gonna be honest here the amount of shadowpeach I see started to irritate me as well KSKSKASKLJKL Like a lot of my previous opinions about the LMK show and fandom changed ever since I started reading the book and looked more into Chinese culture jsjsjsjs I am no expert mind you and I have not finished reading the book yet, but I wish some ppl just did basic research you know KKSSKSD I know there r some ppl in the fandom who does put in the effort to learn more about Chinese culture and mythos but I feel like they r the minority here. I don't like to associate myself with the LMK fandom anymore but I'll still watch the show because I like the animation I guess HAHAHAHA. Anyways read JTTW you won't regret it JSJSJSJ

#there r also a ton of issues regarding how the LMK fandom treats these important Chinese figures JSJSJSJS #also book SWK is much funnier and badass than lmk SWK sorry ASHHDSH #relscreeches #also I am an Erlang Shen apologist and I see so many ppl hating on him in the LMK fandom so naturally I get defensive for him < #HAHAHAHAHAH #like come on guys Erlang Shen's story is actually pretty cool and he's so interesting....he's not just Heaven's lap dog brah #he has the drama....the angst.... #also there r also issues in the show in terms of representation KSKKSKSK #antidote explained it best #but yeah the show be walking on thin ice with the yellow skin lemme tell ya that JSJSJS #i get they r legos but #can u really blame other ppl when they do a double take at that #The first time I watched the show even I raised an eyebrow JSJSJSJ #ngl I dont really know what's happening in the LMK currently coz I filtered all the tags related to it JSJSJSJ